Bradley Perrett covered China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. He is a Mandarin-speaking Australian.
Before joining Aviation Week in 2006 he was a macroeconomics, politics and aerospace journalist with Reuters. Perrett holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Macquarie University, Sydney. He left Aviation Week in 2020.
One might have thought that Chinese labor rates and abundant government capital would guarantee low-enough costs for any aircraft maker. Yet Avicopter says it is looking at outsourcing production to lower-cost countries.
AgustaWestland and a Chinese company are working to set up a privately owned helicopter assembly line, in a project that would mark a great advance for the country's non-government aircraft sector. If an agreement is concluded, the factory will begin delivering helicopters next year. AgustaWestland's aim is not only to save costs but also to establish a technical base for training and support.
Bradley Perrett (Beijing), Leithen Francis (Beijing)
Perhaps the trickiest decision in designing a turboprop airliner is choosing the speed. The main point of such aircraft is economy, but speed for a turboprop simply equates to power, and power equates to fuel burn—not to mention engine mass and cost. Moreover, many aviation professionals argue that, over the ranges that such aircraft usually fly, the passenger barely notices even a 20% difference in cruising speed.
